Raising the Dionne Quintuplets: Lessons for Modern Mothers

Abstract

During the interwar years, men and women in the fields of health, child psychology and social work intervened in an increasingly aggressive manner in the business of raising children. Through the production of an enormous volume of advice literature, experts sought to educate women in the ways of scientific motherhood. The birth of the Dionne Quintuplets in 1934 provided child-care experts with ideal experimental conditions, In contrast to a traditional doctor-patient relationship, doctors were able to dictate the exact terms of the Quintuplets’ routines without being encumbered by the presence of their biological mother. The Quintuplets became a powerful role model for mothers, who were exhorted to follow the scientific regimen established by a team of doctors. Canadian women identified closely with the Quintuplets, and many women tried to replicate the Quints’ regimen in their own child-rearing practices. This paper examines advice literature produced by the Quintuplet experts, looking at both the content and the implications of the advice given to mothers. As well, the author explores the experts’ attitudes towards mothers, both in their published writings on the Dionne Quintuplets and in their treatment of Elzire Dionne.